WATERFALLS

What is groovin everybody???? Kosovo is grooving that is for dang sure. I was able to play futbol for the first time in months and that was SOOO FUN. Let's just say these Albanians and I are lovin life on futbol Saturdays. Fun fact: the donuts here (I don't know how we found them) are 10/10. 

Culture SHOCKS: 

1. One interesting culture thing is that they rely very heavily on their parents approval for everything. Even once they leave the house they still ask their parents for permission to do anything. There is a lot of respect for 

2. EVERYTHING IS SO DANG CHEAP. We bought tons of food to FILL our cupboards, fridge, and freezer and we spent under 20$ WOWZER. 

3. This town is bumpin at night. There are quite a few people out in the day time but when it turns 8:00 the streets are just PACKED with people partying, fireworks, and tons of treats and stuff around town. 

FUNNY GOOFS:

1. This last week we went to a waterfall and it was sooo pretty. As we went to go up closer I told Motra Mann not to go any further or else she was going to slip. What did she do? SHE WENT CLOSER HAHA AND SLIPPED INTO THE WATERFALL. HAHAH I was laughing pretty dang hard that my companion was covered in dirt, mud, and was soaked. 

2. Sooo after that funny little experience karma hit me back. We were in Gjakova (another city about 1.3 hours away from Prishtina) and I was walking on the curbs (because yes I act like I am 6 years old) and I decided to do a fun trick on this ramp that was used for wheelchairs. I ended up slipping and just EATING IT on the ramp and right as I thought it was over I didn't realize that I had also knocked down a bunch of bikes lined up against the ramp which all fell on top of me. I was just stuck there under all the bikes with a bruised bum, bloody wrist, and the biggest smile on my face. That is what I get for laughing at my companion. #compunity

3. I love being a trainer so much. Maybe it is because I have the best comp but seriously it is so fun. We have been working really hard to help her (okay us) speak Albanian. We are both awkward and I love it. This week (in Albanian) she was trying to tell me that I really needed to be careful and not get hit by sins. I was contemplating what she said for so long... I kept asking myself if I had like sinned really bad lately or something and I was confused for the longest time. Finally, I asked her what the heck she was talking about. What she meant was that I really needed to be careful and not get hit by cars. The word for sin is mëkati and the word for car is makinë. We laughed so hard. 

SPIRITUAL GOODIES:

1. I have this cute best friend here that has the BIGGEST desire to get baptized but can't because her parents won't let her. To help strengthen her faith we have been doing Personal Progress together for Young Women's and we have started a Young Women's program here! It is so wonderful. SHE LOVES IT. She has been working so hard so that she won't ever lose her faith. She has memorized the YW theme in both English and Albanian and ALWAYS comes to church on Sunday. She knows what this gospel is all about! It is rooted in her soul! We had the most beautiful lesson with her and talked about her fears of living in Kosovo where she doesn't have the same freedom to choose as we do in America. Together, we read in Matthew 8:26 in the Bible which says, " And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful?, O ye of little Faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm." This verse really helped the both of us see that with the Lord we have NO FEAR. He calms our storms and lifts us up. He reaches out his hand to save us and all that WE have to do is have enough faith to grab his hand and hold on. Remember to find joy in the journey!!!!!! 

I love you all soo stinkin much and I hope you are all smiling and laughing and enjoying the small and simple things!!!! 

LOVE YOU ALL FOREVER!!!!

Love, Motra Sëtën

Adriatic South Mission

P.O. Box 2984

Bulevardi Gjergj Fishta 

Qendra ALPAS

Shkalla NR. 5 Apartamenti NR.14

Tirana, Albania

Pics: Waterfall pics, besties, english kurs, cutie friends, pretty mosque 

SOAKED, LOST, AND LOTS OF POTIONS

Hellllloooooooo everybody!!! What is kickin? It has just been another week in paradise and we couldn't be happier!!!! I have coolest companion, the most beautiful area, and the BEST FRIENDS HERE. We had a baptism and it was so awesome. His name is Diart and I basically am his mom I love him and his sister so much!!! 

Culture shocks: 

1. Albanians generally don't smile in photos. It is so interesting. But they are so cute. Straight face photos are the thing here. 

2. They believe that if you sit on the floor you will get sick. They are so superstitious! They also think rain makes you sick... everyone is scared of the rain. 

3. Everyone claims they know English but in reality they don't so it is just this huge language barrier hahaha they are so sweet. Sometimes they refuse to talk in Albanian and only use the 4 English words they know because we are American lol and they want to help us. 

Goofy goober stories: 

1. Alrighty so if you know me you know that I am like a walking map. I always know where to go. HAHAH jokes. I love to be in charge of the map and I just wish so badly that I was good at using one. So anyways, this week we were driving to Gjakova, Kosovo from Tirana, Albania. As we were driving I may or may not have accidentally led us to the beach which is completely the opposite direction hahahaha. After we finally found the main road we continued on but then I thought it would be a smart idea to take a short cut through the mountains because we were already 2 hours late hahahaha. Bad idea. It was a long cut anddddd we may or may not have gotten ourselves lost in Kosovo without service on our phones. It was so fun!!!!! And soooo beautiful. We found the most beautiful sunflower fields that went on for ages. We made it out alive, 3 hours later, with the biggest smiles on our faces. Not to mention that we met the best people during that whole ordeal that actually are interested in our message!!! What did I learn? 1) everything happens for a reason 2) I shouldn't be in charge of the map 3) Kosovo is the most beautiful place. 

2. This week it rained SOOO MUCH. We went to an appointment and it started pouring rain out of no where. I'm talking DUMPING GALLONS OF RAINDROPS. We had to be on the other side of town for another appointment and we didn't have an umbrella lol. So our friends lent us their umbrella and we started walking to our next appointment. We were walking in water up to mid calf and were just soaking wet. All the sudden the wind took the umbrella and turned it inside out and I really don't know if I have laughed harder in my life. We looked like we were swimming. Good mems. 

3. One of the Americans who lives here decided to do a relief society activity and make like lotions and stuff with essential oils. It was so funny because she had her defuser thing or whatever it is called and was cooking stuff that was smokey so it straight up looked like we were making potions at the church (Harry Potter moment of the week). Our branch President HATES the smell of the essential oil stuff which is so hilarious because they can't get the smell out and so our church has smelled like essential oils for the past 5 days HAHAHAHA. 

FOOD FOR THE SOUL: 

We have a member here who is the definition of service. She talks to ANYONE and EVERYONE and is always talking about her faith, giving away Libri I Mormonits, and serving others despite her having NOTHING. This week I was extremely humbled. Her faith is shown through her actions. She is the most selfless person and always puts others above herself. She shared this quote with me this week, "I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy. " The two greatest commandments God has given is to love Him and to love others. How do we love God? By loving others. How do we love others? By serving them with the power of God. I encourage you all to pray and look for those opportunities to serve one another this week. More importantly, pray to know when to act on those opportunities. You will be blessed with the power from on high. 

Thanks for all your support and love!!! Have faith to work some miracles this week!!! 

LOVE YOU ALL FOREVER!!!!

Love, Motra Sëtën

Adriatic South Mission

P.O. Box 2984

Bulevardi Gjergj Fishta 

Qendra ALPAS

Shkalla NR. 5 Apartamenti NR.14

Tirana, Albania

Transfer Calls!!!!!

Hey everybody!!!! It has been a rockin week and the best things have been happening in KOSOVO. We had transfer calls this week and my beautiful, smart, and rockin companion and trainer is leaving me to return to America :( I am going to miss her so much!! The good news though is that I get to stay in Prishtina (insert cheers and whoops) and I will be TRAINING A NEW MISSIONARY. HAHAHA WHAT. I am sooo new out here so that came as quite the shock. I am a little scared but mostly excited! There are some big things ahead of us here! 

Culture shocks for the week: 

1. Okay so like everybody in Kosovo knows like 4 languages or more. They are very smart when it comes to languages. They almost have to be since the countries are so small over here. Typically they know Serbian, German, Italian, Shqip (Albanian), Macedonian, or English.

2. Going to the bathroom is always an adventure. Usually because there are the fancy Turkish toilets where you go in the ground and they don't really believe in toilet paper or soap or basically any kind of cleaning lol.

3. They also don't have very good nutrition here. They think that bread and desserts make you healthy and strong. Hehe they also believe that if you sit on the ground inside that you will get a cold hhahaa cute. 

Funny stuff!!!: 

1. There is this massive pool here that some of the people love to go to but sidenote: Muslims typically don't go swimming because they have to be covered (if they are big practicers). So long story short, there are not a lot of people at the pool. So this week we walked past the pool and we just see these old men boating at the pool lol it was awesome. 

2. We have these cute lil neighbors who just love us so much. They range from the ages of 4-9 and they always come and hug us and kiss us and touch every square inch of my face and always slap my butt hahaha it is actually so funny. They also love my blonde hair and are always braiding it they are so so cute!!!!!!

3. I am finally almost legal in Kosovo!! The immigration office isn't very established yet so they are a little unofficial and also lose stuff hahaha but after about 3 months I took my favorite German, Elder Lerchner, to use his strict German voice to get the work movin along and now I am almost legal woot woot!!! 

Spiritual thoughts: 

The people here are always such an example to me. This week I have watched 3 different attitude-like things that have changed the way I think. I encourage you all to think about these this week! 

1. SMILING. I met this wonderful woman the other day while contacting and that was the extent of our friendship. I felt bad because it was so quick that all I could do was offer a smile. About a week later I ran into that same lady again but she was with her daughters and grandchildren! She ran up to me like we had been friends for years! She had told her entire family about our interaction the week before because she was so thankful for our smiles! Now we are going to meet with her daughters :) SMILING BRINGS MIRACLES. 

2. EXCITEMENT. The twins are the best example of this. Everytime we mention praying they IMMEDIATELY ask if they can say the prayer and they volunteer for basically every prayer because they love it so much. They love the blessings they recieve, they love talking to their Heavenly Father, and they love having the opportunity to pray for everyone there. Are you excited to pray?? Are you excited for church? Are you excited for Come Follow Me? 

3. REPRESENT. How do you represent your faith? My best friend up here named Biza is such a good representative of Jesus Christ. Not only is she kind, serves, and studies but she also expresses her love for the gospel. She was on her way to church yesterday ( she lives over 30 min away) and as she was walking some friends went past her and said, "What are you doing? Lets go to the pool or go do something! Come on lets go!". With the biggest smile on her face she said, " Hey!! I am heading to church where I get to learn about the gospel and Jesus Christ! Do you wanna come?? :)". WAY TO REPRESENT BIZA! 

Think about smiling more, getting excited to pray, and representing your faith this week!!!! It is something simple that all of us can do! That's all I have for today!!! 

LOVE YOU ALL FOREVER!!!!

Love, Motra Sëtën

Adriatic South Mission

P.O. Box 2984

Bulevardi Gjergj Fishta 

Qendra ALPAS

Shkalla NR. 5 Apartamenti NR.14

Tirana, Albania

( Pics: sheep bums, me with the sheepies, bffs Biza & Teuta, cute fam we are teaching, the twins making fli (a traditional meal) )